I woke up to the sound of my parents arguing. It was odd, because they rarely fought. I sat up in my bed. I was taken home soon after I awoke at Hirsh's and Baila's and my mother had made sure that I had gotten plenty of rest. I had been cooped up for two days and was itching to stretch my legs. I went to the door and poked my head out to overhear their conversation.

"The boy has already said that Zuza doesn't have the symptoms of the sickness," my father said. "We can't just turn him away if he wants to visit her."

"We don't know anything about this boy. He has hardly said anything about the community that he came from, what if he is hiding something?" My mother sounded distraught.

"He has been through a lot. He is probably very frightened, but he's reaching out to Zuza. We should let him."

I could tell my mother was fighting back tears. "But she's our special girl, Yann. What if it affects her differently? The sickness? I couldn't live with myself."

I had honestly been feeling much better. Physically, anyway. I had nightmares about the figure every time I tried to sleep, so I spent a lot of time awake and practicing my powers. It was odd, but I felt that my powers were easier to control once Enzo had come to the Community. I managed to get all the leaves to fall off the tree right after he came and ever since then, I could feel myself growing stronger. Granted, there were always times where I couldn't move anything, but I saw real progress that I hadn't seen before. I wondered if Enzo's arrival really had anything to do with my powers, or if it was just a coincidence. What was worse was that I started to wonder if the monster had anything to do with it. How long had it been in the Community?

I tried to push the thought out of my head, and I ran over to the window and opened it. I saw Enzo standing awkwardly outside my home. I heard my front door slam in his face, and he turned to leave. He seemed to be trying to hide his face in a thick scarf around his neck, but not to shield from the cold, but more to disappear from the side glances he kept getting from passersby.

"Enzo!" I yelled out to him, waving my arms frantically.

He stopped and looked at me. "Hello Zuza," he said in a muffled voice.

"Did my mother turn you away?"

He nodded.

"You can still be my friend, don't worry. Here, you can just climb up the tree and we can talk that way."

He appeared hesitant, but slowly walked over to the trunk of the tree. One he got there, he looked unsure as to how to get started.

"You have climbed a tree before, right?"

"Well..."

"Did you have trees in your community?"

"We did, but we were never allowed to climb them."

"What?!" The concept was absurd to me. "Why not? That's a silly rule."

He shrugged. "My Community is-was- a lot more strict than yours is. We weren't allowed to do a lot of things."

"Hmmpp, well it looks like I have some things to teach you. Was it a rule that you had to have a stick up your butt all the time, because you don't know how to have fun."

Enzo looked shocked and blushed profusely. "N-no."

I laughed. It had been awhile since I laughed, I realized. "I'm just kidding. And don't tell my mom I said the word butt, she thinks it's a rude word."

"Right... I'll add that to the list of things your mom doesn't know you do, right under sneaking out of the house and visiting the infirmary."

"You can joke! I was worried for a bit. I thought that stick was wedged up there a little too far to allow for that."

"Stop talking about the stick," he blushed again.

"Whatever." I climbed out of the window. I confidently stepped out onto a branch and shimmied about halfway down the tree.

"Give me your hand," I told Enzo. "I'll help you up."

He settled beside me on the branch, looking uneasy.

"I'm sorry my mother wouldn't let you in." I told him.

"It's okay, I don't blame her for being cautious. Seems like most people here are, even if they voted for me to stay."

"I think they just did that out of curiosity. You're like a zoo animal for them to watch from a safe distance."

"A zoo animal?" he looked confused. "What's that?"

Stolen story; please report.

"You know, a zoo, like where they kept animals before the Communities. Madi told me all about them. They learn a lot in her history class."

"We didn't learn that much about how the world used to be in my Community."

"That seems odd. You should be open about the past unless you're trying to hide something.

Our communities are very different."

"I think maybe that's why ours didn't last as long."

"Why are you so vague when you talk about your old community?" I asked him, hoping the question wouldn't put him off.

"A lot of bad things happened there." He said simply.

"Were you the only survivor?"

He shook his head, "No. but only a few people made it out. Overtime, they all died until it was only me. I was alone for ages, it felt."

"Have you told Hirsh any of this?"

He shook his head again.

"Why did you tell me?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "You ask questions like you're actually concerned about me. Others ask questions because they're concerned about themselves and the Community."

I didn't know how to respond. I had never thought about it that way, I was just worried about him. The fate of the Community was out of my hands, but I know that I could help my friend.

"Well, you're welcome!" I grinned, but strangely didn't feel that happy. I felt sad. Empty, maybe? I had never felt this way before. I felt bad for Enzo. I guess I had never really felt bad for anyone. Not really.

"Am I selfish?" I asked, more to myself than to Enzo. He looked taken aback.

"No, I don't think so. You saved my life, I don't think that makes you selfish. Why do you ask?"

"I've never felt bad for anyone, not even myself really. Is that bad? I don't know. My life is pretty good, but my life isn't like most people."

"Wh- what do you mean?" Enzo stammered.

"I'm just... different." For the first time, I felt the strong urge to tell someone about my powers. Outside of my family, no one knew, and I was actually okay with that. It was like our little secret. If I was to tell anyone, I'd want it to be Enzo, but my parents told me over and over how important it was to keep my powers a secret. "I..." my voice trailed off. I would keep my secret.

"I've noticed. But what's the fun in being like everyone else?"

I smiled. "That's true."

"Well, I better get going," He said abruptly. "I told Hirsh I would help him in the garden today."

His words sent a jolt through me. "Is that what you were doing when I came to see you?"

"Well yeah, but I was still feeling pretty weak, so I was taking a break under that tree."

My mind went back to the shadowy figure. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. "I don't think you should go help Hirsh."

"Why not?"

"Umm..." I tried to think of an excuse. "Because what if you overwork yourself? You're still recuperating."

"I'm actually not feeling that bad. Once I was rescued, I healed a lot faster than Hirsh thought I would. I'm just trying to regain my strength. I think I'll be fine."

"I- I still don't think it's a good idea."

"Why..." He had started to climb out of the tree, but stopped to look at me. My expression must have given me away and he started to climb back up.

"Is this about the other day? Why would you be worried about me?"

"I'm not," I lied.

"Okay, but you didn't answer the first question."

I could feel frustration starting to build. "It's not about the incident in the garden," I said curtly.

"You never told me what happened there... I mean you told Hirsh and the others that you suddenly got a headache, but I was there. You looked right past me, like you had seen a ghost or something."

My face flushed. I wanted this conversation to be over.

"Zuza," Enzo lowered his voice. "Did you see something?"

My shook my head profusely and stood up on the branch. "I didn't see anything. That would be crazy. Goodbye Enzo, I hope you have an enjoyable time helping Hirsh in the garden." I hurriedly climbed through my window and shut it.

I wiped tears away from my face as I watched him awkwardly climb out of the tree. I wanted to tell him so badly, but I didn't want him to think I was crazy.

You're not crazy, Zuza.